La Bella of Sterling
3601 Sixteenth Avenue, Sterling, IL 61081 · Whiteside County · 70 certified beds · avg 39 residents/day · certified since Aug 1, 1975
What health inspectors found (on-site government inspections — the most independent evidence available)
Health inspection rating: ★★★☆☆3/5 · CMS overall rating: 2/5
The health inspection star above is graded on a curve within each state — a set share of each state's facilities gets each star level — so a facility can have few citations and still rate 2–3 stars if others in its state did even better. The overall rating combines that inspection score with staffing and self-reported quality measures.
Most serious findings (actual harm or immediate jeopardy)
▲ Actual harm, one-off · Oct 3, 2025 · F-0689 · triggered by a complaint
The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls.
Why it matters: This is one of the most common citations and directly relates to falls and injuries, which can be devastating for older adults.
Severity (G): One or a few residents were actually harmed — physically or emotionally — though not put in immediate danger of serious injury or death.
Corrected: Oct 4, 2025 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)
All citations in the current public record (20)
CMS publishes roughly the last three inspection cycles plus recent complaint investigations. Older surveys drop out of the record as new ones are completed.
| Date | Severity | What the facility was cited for |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 16, 2026 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not make sure a transfer or discharge met the resident's needs and preferences, or did not properly prepare the resident to leave safely. · from a complaint |
| Dec 17, 2025 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not provide a safe, clean, comfortable, and homelike environment, including safe support for residents' daily living needs. · from a complaint |
| Oct 3, 2025 | ▲ G · Actual harm, one-off | The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls. · from a complaint |
| Mar 12, 2025 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility's activities program was not run by a qualified professional. The person directing recreation and social activities must have proper training or credentials. |
| Mar 12, 2025 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not get its food from approved, safe sources, or did not store, prepare, and serve food according to professional food safety standards. |
| Mar 12, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not provide necessary behavioral health care and services — support for residents' mental and emotional wellbeing, including conditions like depression and anxiety. |
| Mar 12, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not provide the social services residents need — such as counseling, help with adjustment, or connecting to outside resources — to achieve the best possible quality of life. |
| Mar 12, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not develop and follow policies and procedures for offering residents flu and pneumonia vaccinations. |
| Mar 12, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide a safe, clean, comfortable, and homelike environment, including safe support for residents' daily living needs. |
| Mar 12, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide activities that meet residents' needs and interests. Nursing homes must offer meaningful activity programs, not just leave residents idle. |
| Mar 12, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide appropriate treatment and services to residents with a mental health condition, difficulty adjusting emotionally, or a history of trauma or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). |
| Mar 12, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide pharmacy services that meet each resident's needs, or did not employ or contract with a licensed pharmacist. |
| Mar 12, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not have a licensed pharmacist review each resident's complete medication regimen and medical chart every month, or did not follow its own rules for reporting medication problems. |
| Mar 12, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not try to gradually reduce doses of mood- and mind-altering medications or use non-drug approaches first, as required, or used 'as needed' psychiatric drugs without proper limits. |
| Nov 7, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not keep residents free from significant medication errors — such as giving the wrong drug, the wrong dose, or missing a critical medication. · from a complaint |
| May 9, 2024 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not electronically submit complete and accurate staffing information to the government, based on payroll and other verifiable records. |
| May 9, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide pharmacy services that meet each resident's needs, or did not employ or contract with a licensed pharmacist. |
| Jan 16, 2024 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls. · from a complaint |
| Apr 6, 2023 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not provide pharmacy services that meet each resident's needs, or did not employ or contract with a licensed pharmacist. |
| Apr 6, 2023 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not label drugs according to professional standards or did not store them in locked compartments, with controlled drugs (medications with a high risk of misuse) kept under a separate lock. |
Inspection trend by year
Citations from standard inspections increased between the last two inspection cycles (2 → 11).
| Year | Citations | Serious (G–L) | Worst severity that year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | E |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | F |
| 2025 | 13 | 1 | G ▲ |
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | D |
Counts reflect the current CMS public record (~3 inspection cycles plus complaint investigations); years with no surveys show no row. Inspection frequency varies, so compare severity as well as counts.
Fines and enforcement (last 3 years)
No fines or payment denials in the published 3-year window.
Nurse staffing (from payroll records, adjusted for how much care residents need)
| Measure | This facility | Illinois avg | U.S. avg | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total nurse staffing (hours per resident per day) | 2.45 | 2.99 | 3.95 | bottom 34% in Illinois; bottom 3% in the U.S. |
| Registered Nurse hours | 0.67 | 0.63 | 0.69 | top 30% in Illinois; top 40% in the U.S. |
| Weekend total nurse staffing | 2.21 | 2.67 | 3.50 | bottom 35% in Illinois; bottom 4% in the U.S. |
| Weekend RN hours (not acuity-adjusted) | 0.50 | 0.56 | 0.48 | top 44% in Illinois; top 32% in the U.S. |
| Total nursing staff turnover (%) | 0.0 | 44.5 | 45.8 | — |
| RN turnover (%) | 0.0 | 41.8 | 42.9 | — |
Hours are per resident per day, case-mix adjusted by CMS so facilities caring for sicker residents can be compared fairly (same basis as the CMS staffing star). "Top X%" means better than most facilities: more staffing hours, or lower turnover. Raw (unadjusted) reported hours: total 2.48, RN 0.68, weekend 2.23. Staffing rating: 1/5.
Self-reported quality measures
Note: these ratings are based on data the facility reports about itself to CMS. They are not independently verified by inspectors, and can look better than inspection findings. Give more weight to the inspection results above.
Quality measures rating: 3/5 · long-stay residents: 3/5 · short-stay residents: —/5
Who owns this facility
For profit - Limited Liability company
| Owner / manager | Type | Role | Stake | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ownership Data Not Available |
Questions to ask on your visit
Generated from this facility's actual citation record — bring them to a tour and ask the administrator directly.
- "What is your falls rate, and what specific steps do you take to prevent falls and supervise residents at risk?"
- "Before a resident is discharged or transferred, how do you make sure the new place can actually meet their needs?"
- "Can we tour the resident rooms, bathrooms, and common areas today, including areas not on the usual tour route?"
- "Who runs your activities program, what are their qualifications, and can I see this week's activity calendar?"
- "What did your most recent kitchen inspection find, and can I see how food is stored and prepared?"
- "What mental health services do you provide on-site, and who delivers them?"
- "Who provides social services here, and how would they support my family member's emotional and social needs?"
- "What percentage of your residents and staff are vaccinated against flu and pneumonia, and how do you offer the vaccines?"
- "What is your current ratio of nursing staff to residents on day, evening, and weekend shifts?"
- "Can I see the results and plan of correction from your most recent state inspection?"
Nearby facilities (within 20 miles)
| Facility | Distance | City | Overall | Inspection | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citadel of Sterling,the | 1.3 mi | Sterling, IL | ★★★☆☆ | 4/5 | |
| Allure of Sterling | 1.5 mi | Sterling, IL | ★☆☆☆☆ | 2/5 | abuse |
| Heritage Square | 10.2 mi | Dixon, IL | ★★★★☆ | 5/5 | |
| Dixon Rehab & HCC | 10.8 mi | Dixon, IL | ★★★☆☆ | 3/5 | |
| Polo Rehabilitation & HCC | 12.6 mi | Polo, IL | ★★★☆☆ | 4/5 | |
| La Bella of Morrison | 14.2 mi | Morrison, IL | ★☆☆☆☆ | 2/5 | |
| Resthave Home-Whiteside County | 14.4 mi | Morrison, IL | ★★☆☆☆ | 2/5 | abuse |
| Winning Wheels | 16.3 mi | Prophetstown, IL | ★☆☆☆☆ | 2/5 | abuse |
| Allure of Prophetstown | 16.7 mi | Prophetstown, IL | ★★★☆☆ | 4/5 | |
| Allure of Walnut | 18.9 mi | Walnut, IL | ★★★★★ | 5/5 | |
| Franklin Grove Living and Rehab | 19.4 mi | Franklin Grove, IL | ★★★★★ | 4/5 | |
| Allure of Pinecrest | 20.0 mi | Mount Morris, IL | ★★☆☆☆ | 2/5 |
Compare this facility with the 3 closest →
Facility data as of CMS processing date 2026-08-01. CCN 14E579.